


21st century fairy tale

by ShinMeiko



Series: What if multiverse [3]
Category: Love Simon (2018), Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli, Simonverse | Creekwood Series - Becky Albertalli
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-20 14:56:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18994897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShinMeiko/pseuds/ShinMeiko
Summary: Bram has a very special evening planned for Simon.Sequel to 'Chapter 13 - What if it never came up?' in my 'what if' series.





	21st century fairy tale

It has been a long day at work. Simon loves his job, but Broadway people are crazy sometimes. He knows it a bit ridiculous to complain to Bram about it, because Bram as the most stressful job on Earth, but tonight he’s going to. Tonight, Simon feels like making things about him.

But he pushes the door of the apartment and all of those thoughts leave his mind.

It’s winter, so it’s already dark, and not a single light is on. But Simon can see perfectly, because there are candles everywhere. It might be a fire hazard, but he doesn’t care. It’s _so_ pretty. And Bram is a cautious person. He hopes.

The flat smells amazing as well. Bram has been cooking. Which is fantastic news, because they have both been busy lately, and Simon is getting fed up with takeaway.

There is a bit of music in the background. It’s Elliott Smith, and it takes Simon all the way back to High School. To Jacques and Blue.

Bram gets out of the bedroom and greets Simon with a warm smile. “Good evening, Love. How was work?” Then he plants a quick kiss on Simon’s lips.

“Fine,” Simon lies before deepening the kiss. He doesn’t go for the full leading-to-sex make-out, just enough to forget about his crazy day and thank Bram for the effort he put into the evening.

 

“What is all that for?” Simon asks as he is walking to their dining table – okay, it’s just a fancy kitchen table. It’s just their first apartment – which is set like it’s from a five-star restaurant.

“I wanted to do something nice.”

“It is very nice. It is more than nice. But it looks like a lot of effort, just for a night in.”

“Maybe I love you that much.”

Simon smiles. It still feels unreal, sometimes. Him and Bram. Their crazy story. The fact that Bram ever fell in love with him and never changed his mind.

Simon is a bit overwhelmed by the mood set in their apartment, so he decides to cope the only way he knows how to, in order to avoid tears. He teases Bram.

“It’s just… If I recall properly, the last time you left work early to plan a romantic evening in the apartment, instead of just taking me to a nice restaurant, was the night you told me you were turning down a job offer attached to a high six figures salary.

Bram’s head pops up from behind the fridge’s door. “Excuse me, if I recall, you said you supported my decision. You even called that the best move I made since asking you to move in.”

“I did,” Simon admits with a smile on his face. “When you told me that you were dropping investment law for that legal clinic, I think I fell in love with you all over again.”

Bram leaves the kitchen and comes to give a rock-your-world kiss to Simon. “And I fall in love with you all over again every single day.”

Simon really wants to get his boyfriend naked right now. Do all sorts of things to him. Get all those precious noises out of his mouth.

But Bram clearly put a lot of effort into this evening. So Simon keeps himself in check. There will be some time for that later. You don’t plan that kind of evening without any hope for sex, right?

 

The dinner is amazing. Bram is definitely the better cook in their relationship, and he knows Simon’s tastes so well that even when he tries something new, it feels tailored for Simon. Which sometimes makes him feel bad, how Bram always puts him first, even in small things like that. But Bram always disregards it with a laugh saying that it’s more interesting to cook for someone else.

Simon gets that. When he lived on his own, he never cooked unless he had friends – or Bram – coming over. Even now, he only cooks when they are both home.

 

They just finished the main course when Bram says: “Oh, and as I was starting to set up for this today, guess who called.”

“One hundred percent Garrett,” Simon answers.

“How do you know?”

“You have a Garrett voice.”

“I do not.”

“If you say so.”

“Anyway. He invited us to dinner on Friday night.”

Simon feels a smile emerge on his face. “Oh? And did he say why?”

“No. He played it casual, but… well, it’s Garrett and he’s a terrible actor.”

“Do you think we were right?” Simon asks.

“I think so.”

“I really can’t picture Garrett with a baby,” Simon says.

 

"It is a bit of a terrifying concept," Bram admits. "But we'll guide him through."

Simon laughs. He can perfectly picture Garrett coming to seek Bram's advice at different stages. Not that he judges him. The only way Simon would even  _consider_  having a baby would be if Bram was by his side to guide him too. He's the wise one.

 

They move on to the dessert and Simon is starting to be worried about the sex part. He hopes that the food won’t make him sleepy.

Bram brings an Oreo flavored pastry. Simon isn’t as crazy about Oreos as when he was a teenager, but it’s their thing. They used to eat so many of those that he can’t see one of the cookies without immediately thinking about Bram.

“Thank you for tonight,” Simon says as he’s clearing the table. “I needed that.”

“I thought your day went fine.”

“It did. It was fine. Now it’s perfect.”

Bram’s eyes go all soft and caramelly. “I’m glad you think that way, because… there is another part to the evening. I was just trying to get you in the right mindset.”

Simon shivers. Bram’s voice and gaze are intense. He doesn’t know what comes next. He just knows that it’s not more food, and that it’s not sex either. It is something massive that required a perfect evening.

“Simon… Do you remember what happened exactly two years ago?”

Simon shakes his head. He knows it’s not their anniversary, because that’s in June.

“Two years ago, we had Garrett and his new girlfriend over for dinner.”

Simon shivers again. He didn’t remember the date, but he will remember that evening forever. “That’s when we found out,” he whispers.

“That’s when we found out,” Bram confirms. “And however magical and life-altering that was, it might still be the second best thing that happened that evening. You said something that night. Do you remember what?”

Simon has two memories of that night. Rose's big eyes that mesmerized him enough to mention Blue at loud for the first time. And finding out that Bram and Blue were the same person.

“You said something, just like that, that hasn’t left the back of my mind for a single day since.” Bram reaches for something in his pocket. He stands, goes around the table to be next to Simon, and lowers himself to his level. Bram takes Simon’s hand and put a box in them.

It’s small. Its size is specific enough to be universally recognizable. That’s when Simon realizes that Bram didn’t just lower himself. He’s kneeling. “Bram…” Simon’s voice is shaking.

Bram looks at him with so much love in his eyes that Simon feels overwhelmed. Maybe more than by the still unopened box in his hands.

“You called me your ‘maybe husband’. I have thought about it a lot, since then. I think… I think that maybe now is our time.”

Bram opens the box. It is a white gold wide ring. The inside is engraved, but Simon’s eyes are watering and he can’t read it. His mind isn’t thinking clearly enough for him to get the ring out and wipe his eyes to read it.

Instead, he focuses back on Bram as he starts talking again.

“I love you, Simon. You know that. I just don’t think you know how much. I love your kindness. I love your smile. I love that bedhead of yours that has been the same since high school. I love your eyes and all the emotions that go through them. I love your sense of humor. I love that you are my one and only. I love that you are both Simon and Jacques. I love that you kept Blue in your heart all these years, protecting him fiercely. I’m sure I would love that side of you even if I wasn’t Blue. I love that you are my one only. My first and my last. I love that we could make long distance work when we were so young. I love that I never laid eyes on another man, that I never even wanted to, even when temptation was all around, and you were so far away. I love that you trust me enough to never have asked the question. I love that I trust enough so the question never even crossed my mind. I love that you stayed with me through law school when stress was getting the best of me. I know I’ve been awful to you more than once. I love that you supported me when I chose a different career path, even if that meant less money. I love the face you made when I asked you to move in with me. I love that you always put your friends and family first. I love the way you look at me when you think I’m not watching. I love how we are still so compatible in the bedroom, and that every time feels like a discovery. I love so many things about you that I could carry on that list all night long. I love you, Simon. All of you. And I love us. So much that it scares me sometimes.”

Bram’s voice is starting to shake, but Simon is properly crying by now.

“That night he introduced Rose to us, Garrett called us a twenty-first-century fairy tale. I want to believe that it’s true. I want us to be that. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Whether it’s just you forever or whether we have ten children, I don’t care. I want to spend however long I have left on this Earth by your side. It’s going to sound cliché, but I really want your face to be the last thing I see before going to sleep, and the first thing I see after waking up.”

“Bram, don’t.”

Bram’s face goes blank. “Don’t what?”

“Don’t ask the question.”

Bram looks hurt. But he is still there. He would understand if Simon wasn’t ready. “Why not?” he asks.

“Because you only ask questions when you don’t know the answer. I would be very offended if you didn’t know the answer to that question.”

Bram sighs in relief, and a smile is back on his face. Probably the brightest smile Simon ever saw. Bram takes the ring and slides it on Simon’s finger. It’s a perfect fit, because Bram is magic like that.

Simon looks at the band around his ginger and is mesmerized. As he ever felt this happy before? If he has, he can’t remember it.

Before he even realizes what he’s doing, Simon is kissing Bram. And he absolutely does not keep himself in check this time. “I love you so much,” he says against Bram’s lips. “So freaking much.” Tomorrow, he will tell Bram how much he loves him. He will give him a list, hopefully as beautiful as the one Bram made him a few minutes ago.

But right now, he really doesn’t want to speak. He wants to show his feelings.

 

The night so far has been entertaining for most sense. Sight, smell, hearing, taste. That leaves one. Touch. That’s the one sense of Simon’s that Bram hasn’t played with tonight.

That changes as soon as they start dropping clothes.

Lips are traveling, hands are caressing, breathings are quickening, fingers are grabbing.

They won’t make it to the bedroom. Instead, they collapse on the coach. That’s fine. Maybe it’s even for the best. So they can enjoy Bram’s amazing ambiance a while longer.

Simon has always found Bram beautiful. Especially naked. But tonight, lit by candles, Bram is a piece of art. Simon explores every inch of his body, and he takes his time. Just like when they were eager teenagers, except now he knows Bram’s body and reactions off by heart. He can play him like an instrument, and that’s exactly what he does.

Bram shows Simon that he knows him just as well. Simon loves every second of it. It’s not pleasure anymore, it’s ecstasy. The way Bram looks at him is probably the mirror of Simon’s own feelings. He’s never been more in love than right now. Whenever the light catches his ring, his heart swells a little more.

They keep kissing and whispering loving words as their chests brush again, and again, and again.

Everything accumulates in Simon’s head and heart – and maybe some other body parts – until he can’t take it anymore. They must truly be on sync tonight, because they come together, without having to try or hold back.

They collapse in each other’s arms, panting, smiling, and blissfully happy.

When Simon looks at Bram, he has that mischievous look in his eyes. Bram brushes Simon’s hair out of his face as lips form a lopsided smile, and he asks: “So… is that a yes?”

 

 

 


End file.
